search

Search Combined

Search both text and images/diagrams in 3GPP specifications simultaneously.

Combines text search and image search in a single request. Returns text_results (matched passages) and image_results (figures/diagrams) for the same query.

When to use: For broad topic research where both text explanations and diagrams are relevant — e.g. "5G NR random access procedure" would return the procedural text AND the flow chart.

Trade-off: Slower than text-only search because it queries both indexes. Prefer search_text when you only need text, and search_images when you only need figures.

Filters: All filters (release, series, doc_number, available_before, etc.) apply to both the text and image searches. Every result carries provenance (3GPP archive upload time and approving TSG plenary).

Exact values: numbers, constants and symbol names in the query (e.g. "32400", "44.1 dB") are also matched literally against clause text, as in search_text; text results that contain them carry matched_terms.

post/search/combined

Request

  • Base URL: https://api.3gppscout.com (the document declares no server; this is the origin it was published from)
  • URL: https://api.3gppscout.com/search/combined
  • Auth: none declared

Request body

querystring required

Natural language search query. Searches both text and images simultaneously.

text_match_countinteger

Text candidates before reranking. Default 30 balances speed and quality.

text_match_thresholdnumber

Text similarity threshold. Leave at 0 (default) and rely on reranking.

rerankboolean

Rerank text results for better precision. Always leave true.

rerank_top_kinteger

Number of text results after reranking. Use 3–5 for focused lookups, 10–20 for research.

include_section_textboolean

Include full parent section text for each text chunk.

image_match_countinteger

Number of image/diagram results to return alongside text results.

image_match_thresholdnumber

Image similarity threshold. Default 0 returns best matches.

deduplicateboolean

Collapse near-duplicate text and image results from different releases/versions; collapsed matches appear in each winner's 'also_in' with release, version, and scores. Ignored when filter_release is set.

filter_releasestring nullable

Restrict to a specific 3GPP release. Examples: 'Rel-15', 'Rel-17', 'Rel-20'. Omit for all indexed releases (Rel-15 through Rel-20).

filter_doc_typestring nullable

Restrict by document type: 'TS' (Technical Specification) or 'TR' (Technical Report).

filter_doc_numberstring nullable

Restrict to a specific document, e.g. '38.331', '23.501'. Numeric format only.

filter_seriesstring nullable

Restrict by series: '38' = NR/5G, '23' = system architecture, '36' = LTE, '33' = security.

filter_section_numberstring nullable

Restrict to a section, e.g. '5.3.5'. Only useful with filter_doc_number.

available_beforestring date nullable

Only versions uploaded to the 3GPP archive before this date (YYYY-MM-DD; before 00:00 UTC, so the day itself is excluded), e.g. a patent application's priority date. A version whose upload time is unknown is left out. Usually one version per release of each spec is indexed (the newest in that release, Rel-15 onward), so a release appears only if that version predates the cutoff; older versions are in the 3GPP archive but not searchable here.

Response

Successful Response

querystring required
text_totalinteger required
image_totalinteger required
rerankedboolean required
elapsed_msnumber required

Changes

No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.